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Biography by Nicole-Anne Keyton

Occupation: Investigative journalist

Sarah Jane used to travel throughout time and space with the Doctor. Her first time-space travelling adventure was when she went to UNIT posing as her aunt Lavinia Smith for a journalism opportunity, where, after being acquainted with one John Smith (actually the Doctor), she accidently steps inside the TARDIS and is whisked off to the Middle Ages and encounters a Sontaran. For several years following this, Sarah Jane has been travelling with the Doctor to various planets, space ships, etc throughout time.

After being forced to leave behind her adventures with the Doctor, the TARDIS, and UNIT, she attempts to get back to how her life originally was before, until many years later, she meets the Doctor again in another opportunity at investigative journalism. Meeting the Doctor again seems to put a certain closure Sarah Jane's been expecting since he left her on Earth all those years ago: because the Doctor gets to explain what happened to him after Sarah Jane left, she can accept what happened and move on with her life. She then begins her adventures on Bannerman Road, finding aliens who come to Earth and stopping the ones who want to invade the planet.

Sarah Jane eventually builds up a 'team' of sorts who help her out in her adventures: Luke Smith, her adopted son; Maria Jackson, her neighbour; Clyde Langer, Luke and Maria's friend from school; and Rani, who moves in to Maria's house after Maria moves to America. Together, they encounter aliens, some friendly and some hostile, and defend the Earth.

Notes for Sarah Jane Smith

The new Doctor Who Magazine (out 20th October) celebrates the life of Elisabeth Sladen in a special 100-page issue. Among those paying tribute are Doctors Tom Baker, David Tennant and Matt Smith. Tom Baker describes Sladen's death in April as "a terrible blow" and remembers being overwhelmed by the public reaction:

Such an outpouring of grief, the spontaneous grief of people, the extravagance of people saying how great and wonderful she was, sprang out of that shock that we’ve lost part of a culture generated by a programme that goes back… well, she was with me in 1974, and she only died this year. She was a piece of television, wasn’t she? A piece of people’s lives, their childhoods…

The Doctor's Best Friend: DWM takes an in-depth look at the life and times of Elisabeth Sladen, from her childhood in Liverpool, through to her starring roles in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The Final Interview: DWM presents Elisabeth Sladen’s final magazine interview, originally conducted for Radio Times in 2010, and published here exclusively in full for the first time.

Introducing Miss Smith: It was the series that saw the first appearance of Sarah Jane Smith – and the departure of the Third Doctor. DWM looks at a year of Daleks, Ice Warriors and Sontarans as Countdown To 50 reaches 1973/4’s Series Eleven!

The Last Adventures: DWM catches up with Phil Ford, the Head Writer of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and stars Daniel Anthony, Anjli Mohindra and Sinead Michael, about working with Lis and making the final series of the top-rated CBBC spin-off from Doctor Who.

Happy Birthday!Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat has some confidential thoughts to share exclusively with DWM readers in the 100th edition of Production Notes!

World's End! The Doctor, Amy and Alan Turing are on a mission to stop Chiyoko – and save the human race – in Episode 3 of the latest comic strip, The Child of Time by Jonathan Morris with art by Martin Geraghty.

Game On! The Doctor on Big Brother. Rose on The Weakest Link. And Captain Jack with the makeover from hell! DWM’s Time Team – Emma, Chris, Will and Michael – travels to the year 200,100 and watches the penultimate Ninth Doctor story, Bad Wolf as their mission to watch every episode in order continues!

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